Latest / The Puppy Training Podcast / Episode #294 What CAN I Train My Dog To Do?

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Episode #294 What CAN I Train My Dog To Do? · The Puppy Training Podcast

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: You hear me say a lot, what do you want your dog to do?
• 0:03
  SPEAKER_00: But if you're one of those people that's wondering, hmm, what can I train my dog to do?
• 0:08
  SPEAKER_00: TODE's show is for you.
• 0:10
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to the Puppy Training Podcast, the show designed to help you raise a confident, well-behaved puppy using positive practical training methods.
• 0:19
  SPEAKER_00: Each week we'll explore real-life training strategies, break down common puppy challenges, and give you clear, step-by-step guidance you can start using right away.
• 0:27
  SPEAKER_00: Whether you're dealing with potty training, biting, jumping, or just want to build a stronger bond with your pup as their handler, you're in the right place.
• 0:34
  SPEAKER_00: Hi you guys, welcome to the puppy training podcast.
• 0:36
  SPEAKER_00: I'm Amy.
• 0:37
  SPEAKER_00: I run Baxter Umbella, an online puppy school.
• 0:40
  SPEAKER_00: We help families train their puppies to live in their homes.
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_00: And I like to just give you these free tips via the podcast.
• 0:47
  SPEAKER_00: I also have a blog.
• 0:49
  SPEAKER_00: You can go to my website.
• 0:50
  SPEAKER_00: We have lots of free resources for you.
• 0:52
  SPEAKER_00: We're on YouTube as well.
• 0:53
  SPEAKER_00: So check us out.
• 0:54
  SPEAKER_00: We would love to help you train your puppy.
• 0:56
  SPEAKER_00: Now, I was on a group QA call.
• 0:58
  SPEAKER_00: That's something we do three times a week.
• 1:00
  SPEAKER_00: And I had a lady say to me, I'm a new puppy parent.
• 1:05
  SPEAKER_00: I don't even know what are my options.
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_00: Like, what are my options?
• 1:09
  SPEAKER_00: What can I teach my dog to do?
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_00: Which is a really cool question.
• 1:13
  SPEAKER_00: And it made me think for a minute.
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_00: So I thought, you know what?
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_00: We're doing a podcast on this.
• 1:17
  SPEAKER_00: So here's what usually happens, right?
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_00: You bring home a puppy, and within about 48 hours, you've got a list.
• 1:23
  SPEAKER_00: We need to stop biting, stop barking, stop jumping, stop chewing the furniture, stop having accidents.
• 1:29
  SPEAKER_00: And we know that the don't list writes itself basically.
• 1:33
  SPEAKER_00: But how many of us actually sit down and write the do list?
• 1:37
  SPEAKER_00: And the do list is where all the actual training lives.
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_00: And that's why we say, what do you want your dog to do?
• 1:42
  SPEAKER_00: So here's the principle behind that.
• 1:44
  SPEAKER_00: Dogs can't do nothing.
• 1:46
  SPEAKER_00: A behavior doesn't just disappear because you said no or stop enough times.
• 1:51
  SPEAKER_00: And every don't needs a do instead.
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_00: So don't jump on guests becomes sit to be greeted.
• 1:58
  SPEAKER_00: Don't countersurf becomes go to your mat while I'm cooking.
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_00: Don't pull on leash becomes, hey, how about you check in with me and we'll continue walking?
• 2:06
  SPEAKER_00: If you only train the don't, you end up with a confused puppy and a very frustrated human.
• 2:11
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm here to tell you that this other way of training is so much more fun for you and your dog.
• 2:17
  SPEAKER_00: If you train the do, you end up with a dog who knows exactly how to win in your house, and that's really important.
• 2:23
  SPEAKER_00: Now, here's the part that makes this question so powerful.
• 2:26
  SPEAKER_00: The do list isn't one size fits all.
• 2:29
  SPEAKER_00: What you want your puppy to do is going to depend entirely on your real life.
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_00: A behavior that's critical in one home is or maybe irrelevant in another.
• 2:40
  SPEAKER_00: So let's talk about some real life profiles, and then you can see which one sounds like you, okay?
• 2:45
  SPEAKER_00: All right, profile number one.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_00: Let's say you are older, you're retired, or you work from home and you are around most of the day.
• 2:52
  SPEAKER_00: So what do you want?
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_00: Probably a calm companion.
• 2:56
  SPEAKER_00: The number one behavior I'd train for this would be settle on a mat.
• 2:59
  SPEAKER_00: A dog who can lie down and relax while you're reading, working, or watching TV.
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_00: And number two would be polite leash walking because, hey, I want to go on a daily walk.
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_00: It's the highlight of both of my our days.
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_00: And number three, maybe a solid recall in the yard or park because we do like to go outside and play together.
• 3:17
  SPEAKER_00: Now, those would be the three things that I would work on.
• 3:20
  SPEAKER_00: If you're profile number two, let's say that you work nine to five, maybe you have a dog walker that comes over or a sitter midday or a friend that looks in on your dog, your list is going to look completely different.
• 3:32
  SPEAKER_00: You might want a dog who's comfortable being alone, and that's crate training that we can teach you how to do.
• 3:38
  SPEAKER_00: Not as punishment, but as a cozy place for your dog to relax.
• 3:42
  SPEAKER_00: You also might be looking for bulletproof potty habits on a schedule.
• 3:46
  SPEAKER_00: So they go when you're there to let them out and they hold it otherwise.
• 3:50
  SPEAKER_00: And you probably want an appropriate way to be greeted when you get home from that long day of work.
• 3:56
  SPEAKER_00: And maybe that's not your dog launting off the couch like a furry missile at you.
• 4:00
  SPEAKER_00: So we train a calm greeting routine.
• 4:03
  SPEAKER_00: Like, what do I want this to look like when I walk through the door?
• 4:05
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe that's your dog comes and sits by the door.
• 4:08
  SPEAKER_00: Bella at our house just jumps up on the back bench.
• 4:10
  SPEAKER_00: We have a nice uh long padded bench there, and that's where she loves to just jump up and wait for us to walk through the door.
• 4:16
  SPEAKER_00: So whatever it looks like at your house, we could help you implement that nice greeting.
• 4:20
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, let's say your profile number three.
• 4:22
  SPEAKER_00: You're like, yeah, no, I'm not number one, I'm not number two.
• 4:24
  SPEAKER_00: What's another profile you have for me?
• 4:27
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe you have young kids in the house.
• 4:29
  SPEAKER_00: Now, safety actually jumps to the top of our list.
• 4:32
  SPEAKER_00: So you're going to need to train a gentle mouth right away.
• 4:35
  SPEAKER_00: That means no nipping little hands, no jumping, because what's cute at 12 pounds is maybe an emergency care visit or an urgent care visit at 60 pounds, right?
• 4:45
  SPEAKER_00: If you have little kids.
• 4:46
  SPEAKER_00: And my favorite for busy families would be go to your spot.
• 4:50
  SPEAKER_00: When the house is chaos, kids, friends are over, or dinner's being made, or maybe your baby's crying, your dog has a job to do.
• 4:57
  SPEAKER_00: They can go get a chew, go to their bed, and they can hang out.
• 4:59
  SPEAKER_00: Now that's a trained behavior, and it's really, really valuable.
• 5:04
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, so now let's talk about apartment versus house, because that's going to look differently as well.
• 5:10
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe this is an additional profile.
• 5:13
  SPEAKER_00: This is profile number four.
• 5:14
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe you live in a small space, apartment living.
• 5:16
  SPEAKER_00: So that means your neighbors are six inches away through a wall.
• 5:20
  SPEAKER_00: So your number one is probably I need my dog not to bark, right?
• 5:24
  SPEAKER_00: Because barking makes bad neighbors or mad neighbors, I should say.
• 5:28
  SPEAKER_00: So I train, I thank you, quiet routine very early.
• 5:32
  SPEAKER_00: I'd get my dog to recognize, you know, we don't love being loud.
• 5:35
  SPEAKER_00: I also would probably work on elevator and stairwell manners, right?
• 5:39
  SPEAKER_00: Passing people in tight spaces and then maybe sitting calmly if we see a stranger that's coming by, and maybe we can get out of the way and sit and wait till they pass.
• 5:49
  SPEAKER_00: You'll also need that rock solid potty plan because there's no just open the back door and let them out, right?
• 5:54
  SPEAKER_00: We have to plan that into our schedule.
• 5:56
  SPEAKER_00: And that might include a scheduled walk, or maybe we're setting up your balcony to be an outdoor potty area.
• 6:03
  SPEAKER_00: Your puppy needs to know where that happens.
• 6:06
  SPEAKER_00: Now, if you compare that to a house with a yard, you get a different list, right?
• 6:11
  SPEAKER_00: Door manners become huge.
• 6:12
  SPEAKER_00: You want a dog who waits at an open door instead of just bolting out.
• 6:16
  SPEAKER_00: Yard boundaries are important.
• 6:18
  SPEAKER_00: Where can they dig?
• 6:18
  SPEAKER_00: Where can't they?
• 6:20
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, recall is very important because that yard has a gate that someone will eventually leave open, right?
• 6:24
  SPEAKER_00: Or we need, I need to go somewhere.
• 6:26
  SPEAKER_00: I need my dog to come back inside the house.
• 6:28
  SPEAKER_00: That's going to be important.
• 6:30
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, now one that we haven't talked about yet would be therapy dogs.
• 6:35
  SPEAKER_00: I love the fact that dogs can be so valuable to human lives, whether they're service dogs, therapy dogs, or even honestly, you guys, if you're just training a family dog, there is um so much joy and comfort that comes when my kids personally walk through the door from a busy day at work or school and they are greeted by my dogs.
• 6:55
  SPEAKER_00: They're so excited.
• 6:56
  SPEAKER_00: And if they've had a stressful day or an overwhelming day, they just want to snuggle on the sofa with them.
• 7:02
  SPEAKER_00: So these dogs are so valuable, but I know um some dogs, even more so, in the field work of therapy or service dogs.
• 7:08
  SPEAKER_00: Some people rely very heavily on their service dogs.
• 7:11
  SPEAKER_00: So let's say that you want to train your dog to be a therapy dog.
• 7:14
  SPEAKER_00: You want to go out in your community and do some service with your dog.
• 7:17
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe you want to visit schools, hospitals, or nursing homes someday.
• 7:21
  SPEAKER_00: The gold standard behavior here would be neutrality.
• 7:25
  SPEAKER_00: I want a dog who can walk past another dog without losing their mind.
• 7:29
  SPEAKER_00: I want a dog who accepts petting and handling from strangers like it's the most normal thing in the world.
• 7:35
  SPEAKER_00: Now, not every dog can do that, but there are some who can.
• 7:38
  SPEAKER_00: I also want a dog that can settle on a mat in a brand new noisy, strange smelling environment and act like they've been there a hundred times, right?
• 7:45
  SPEAKER_00: So neutrality isn't flashy.
• 7:48
  SPEAKER_00: It's actually just a calm dog in a lot of different environments, but it's everything in therapy work.
• 7:53
  SPEAKER_00: So here's a secret: every one of these therapy behaviors makes a fantastic family dog, too.
• 8:00
  SPEAKER_00: All right, so here's what I want you to do this week.
• 8:01
  SPEAKER_00: I'm going to give you a little bit of homework.
• 8:03
  SPEAKER_00: I want you to grab a piece of paper or open your notes app and write down three to five behaviors that you want your dog to do in your real life.
• 8:12
  SPEAKER_00: So not the don'ts.
• 8:13
  SPEAKER_00: If you need to start with the don'ts, fine, make a don'ts list, but each don't has to be turned into a do.
• 8:19
  SPEAKER_00: And I want you to be specific to your life, your schedule, your home environment, your family.
• 8:25
  SPEAKER_00: Because you don't need to teach your dog to do 200 different behaviors.
• 8:28
  SPEAKER_00: Let's just pick something that works for you.
• 8:31
  SPEAKER_00: So I want you to just, for your homework this week, just pick one.
• 8:34
  SPEAKER_00: Just one.
• 8:35
  SPEAKER_00: And I want you to teach your dog to do it this week in short little sessions, two or three minutes a piece, a few times a day, and reward your puppy like crazy for it.
• 8:44
  SPEAKER_00: Because here's what happens when you do this.
• 8:46
  SPEAKER_00: Your puppy starts collecting wins.
• 8:48
  SPEAKER_00: And a puppy who knows how to win in your house is a puppy who keeps offering that behavior again because good behavior is what pays.
• 8:55
  SPEAKER_00: So, Lizzie, if you're listening, your doodle is 14 weeks old, which means you are in the golden window.
• 9:00
  SPEAKER_00: Everything you teach right now is what we call wet cement for your puppy.
• 9:03
  SPEAKER_00: So just pick your three to five.
• 9:05
  SPEAKER_00: Start with maybe settle on a mat.
• 9:07
  SPEAKER_00: That would be a great behavior for you.
• 9:09
  SPEAKER_00: And you can sign up for our intermediate training course where we will teach you how to do that with your puppy.
• 9:13
  SPEAKER_00: And we will help you proof that behavior.
• 9:15
  SPEAKER_00: And that one behavior, settle on a mat, can be used for so many different things as far as problem solving goes.
• 9:22
  SPEAKER_00: So you have a couple months until the holidays.
• 9:25
  SPEAKER_00: Let's have a goal of getting your puppy to settle on a mat by Christmas.
• 9:30
  SPEAKER_00: And for the rest of you, I would genuinely love to see your lists.
• 9:34
  SPEAKER_00: What does your real life need your dog to do and send them my way?
• 9:37
  SPEAKER_00: I wish you guys we could train our dogs to do our dishes.
• 9:39
  SPEAKER_00: That's probably not on the list.
• 9:41
  SPEAKER_00: That would be lovely if it was.
• 9:42
  SPEAKER_00: But they can do so many cool things.
• 9:45
  SPEAKER_00: I was talking about my kids, and when they come home, they love it when my dogs uh jump up and snuggle on them.
• 9:50
  SPEAKER_00: So we do deep tissue pressure, deep tissue pressure therapy.
• 9:53
  SPEAKER_00: That's a lot to say.
• 9:55
  SPEAKER_00: But they lay across their laps or they'll rest their chins on my kids' laps and just let that weight sink into them.
• 10:02
  SPEAKER_00: It's so relaxing.
• 10:03
  SPEAKER_00: We can teach your dog to go in under a table and remain there until dinner's over.
• 10:09
  SPEAKER_00: We can teach your dog to shut a door.
• 10:12
  SPEAKER_00: We can teach your dog to open a door.
• 10:14
  SPEAKER_00: We can teach your dog to pick up their own toys.
• 10:16
  SPEAKER_00: So there's a lot of options.
• 10:18
  SPEAKER_00: Um, if you need help brainstorming, reach out to us and we would love to help you brainstorm.
• 10:23
  SPEAKER_00: Even if you get stuck on your don't list and you're like, Amy, I don't know what to do.
• 10:27
  SPEAKER_00: I have a don't list, and you need help turning it into a do list, please reach out to us.
• 10:32
  SPEAKER_00: I'm happy to help brainstorm with you.
• 10:34
  SPEAKER_00: And then if you need training help, again, we're here for you.
• 10:36
  SPEAKER_00: That's what we do here at Baxter Umbella.
• 10:38
  SPEAKER_00: So, all right, thanks you guys for listening.
• 10:40
  SPEAKER_00: Hopefully, it gave you a little bit of um maybe some ideas to do to get started.
• 10:46
  SPEAKER_00: And we definitely have answers for you if you need help.
• 10:48
  SPEAKER_00: So reach out to us.
• 10:49
  SPEAKER_00: All right, enjoy your week.
• 10:50
  SPEAKER_00: Happy training.
• 10:52
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks for tuning in today.
• 10:53
  SPEAKER_00: If you found this episode helpful, be sure to subscribe so you never miss a training tip.
• 10:57
  SPEAKER_00: And if you're enjoying the show, leaving a quick review really helps other handlers find us.
• 11:01
  SPEAKER_00: For more training resources, tips, and support, visit me Amy Jensen at baxterambella.com.
• 11:07
  SPEAKER_00: Until next time, happy training.